What I Meant to Say!

On Monday I sat down dutifully to write my blog. I began writing with a vague concept in mind and continued on until the first paragraph was completed. Then, it happened. I’m not sure if it was because I had not written a blog in several weeks or the subject matter I chose, but there I sat scratching my head. It dawned on me in the most profound way that by trying to help people solve their issues, I spent a lot of time outlining what wasn’t right. Thinking errors and self-esteem and bondage and condemnation and judgment, all natural enemies and real problems, but rather symptoms of things that have gone wrong. And though I find it noble and kind to wish to relieve someone of their suffering, I cannot spend all of my time there. It is the other side of the equation we seek. We are, from the factory, built with an inner desire to find peace and meaning and love. Our pursuit of happiness is very real and the end result of winning the fight. We just want to be happy and blessed. So, this is what I meant to say.

Life, in its simplest form is to be lived. Where we ever got this notion that we had to figure everything out is the mystery of the ages. Although on the surface it always points to fear. Fear, almost always veiled, instills in us the need to control that which we cannot control. Foolishly, wouldn’t it be better to find out one day you had some dreadful disease than to spend the prior 10 years dreading it? We seek to control that which we cannot control. Much, yes much of our lives is beyond our control. Yet we insist on analyzing and examining every step we take for fear we misstep, lose God’s favor, or if you have a works mentality, do something bad that outweighs your good. Fear is driving that train. Then life becomes an endless obligation to do something. There is no time to enjoy the moment you find yourself in. There is no space for pause to reflect, to revel in, to experience. We are no longer living our lives, we are working them out. We are trying to solve riddles. We are looking for the reason, yet not clear on the true reason. We are exhausting ourselves trying to accomplish a job we were never meant to do. We end up carrying a load greater than we can bear. And like anything weighed down, we begin to stoop and hunch and falter, tired and weary, not really living anymore. We are not happy because the circumstances aren’t happy. We are unhappy because we forgot how to live. We are spending too much time looking all around at the senses realm drawing conclusions and making guesses. We lost track maybe that life is first spiritual. A guy once said, “Get your vertical divine and your horizontal will be fine.” In other words, seek God, find God, rely on God, trust God and get back to living your life. That is what I meant to say.

Do you remember when you were growing up? Sure your parents weren’t perfect but usually they tried hard to take care of you. So many people are still upset with their parents over something that they did. Well, here is a newsflash! They didn’t know what they were doing so they guessed a little, followed bad patterns they got from their folks and generally did the best they could. They were no more perfect than we are perfect. If you made it this far, they did something right. Okay, I digress. My point is, you counted on them to meet your needs. Likely you spent very little time trying to work it out for them. You counted on them to handle it and back to playing you went. Well, the same pattern is what God wants to do with you now. He sort of invented parents. His desire is that the same way you trusted your parents when you were young, you would trust Him now that you are grown. You do not need to walk around each day overthinking everything and analyzing yourself into an early grave. Again, you seek to control that which you do not and cannot control. Yes, you should be diligent. Yes you should take some responsibility. But, at the end of the day, you cannot control things you were never meant to control. God is the One that controls things. He knows all and sees all. There is no tricking Him. And, He is well able to take care of you. My life is a testimony to this. Yet those who know me are well aware of my imperfections. Well aware! But, God does not take care of me because I always get it right. He takes care of me because I believe He will. I stopped trying so hard to figure it all out and instead gave it to God as soon as it came up and then again when it came up again. Live life, get challenged, suffer a little, find God’s solution, get back to enjoying life. God has never failed me. He will never fail you either. All He needs is a willingness on your part. Seek Him and find Him, though He be not far from anyone of us. That is what I meant to say.

It’s not too late to get the help you need. Lord knows, literally, how much time you have spent trying to figure this out on your own. He knows you are weary and He will rejuvenate you. He is the God of restoration. He is the source, your source and the closer you get to the source, the happier your life will become. Life is first spiritual my friends. That is what I meant to say.

Just some good thoughts…